Philippines suspends mandatory online registration-badge display

The suspension concerns the badge requirement prescribed by Revenue Memorandum Circular No.38/2026 and supplemented by Circulars Nos.64/2026 and 99/2026. It is open-ended rather than a replacement fixed deadline.^[1]

Registration must be distinguished from badge display. Revenue Regulations No.15/2024 require covered persons to register with the BIR. Section 6 addresses display of registration certificates at physical business locations, while section 7 addresses electronic proof of registration on websites and digital platforms. The new circular does not state that businesses are exempt from registration or all other certificate-posting obligations.^[1][2]

Circular No.38 introduced the badge as an alternative to exposing the full Certificate of Registration online. It addresses online sellers and service providers using websites, mobile applications, social-media business pages and marketplace profiles. Its guidance allows taxpayers to extract only the badge rather than upload the full registration document.^[3]

Groups operating Philippine digital businesses or marketplaces should distinguish presentation of the badge from registration status. Section 11 of RR15/2024 separately addresses platform operators’ responsibility to ensure their sellers are registered and comply with invoicing requirements. Those responsibilities should not be treated as abolished by the suspension.^[2]

Identify the covered online business, whether a badge has been obtained and any separate registration or platform-control obligations. Voluntary display can continue, but no general registration exemption or new fixed compliance date should be assumed.^[1][2]